The Justin Bieber Lovefest Is a Rapper's Delight

With the appearance of Miley Cyrus and Boyz II Men at Justin Bieber's Madison Square Garden show earlier this week, the 16-year old superstar's special guests may have surprised the crowd, but weren't exactly sonically incongruous shock appearances. But for those not familiar with Bieber's recorded output, the emergence of rapper Ludacris, who appears on on "Baby" off Bieber's 'My World 2.0' album, may have left some wondering if he had the right building. The relationship further solidifies the relatively recent BFF relationship between hip-hop and teen pop.

For most of the 1980s and early 1990s, the intersection of the two genres was virtually nonexistent. In 1989, you weren't exactly finding a lot of fans of both New Kids on the Block's 'Hangin' Tough' and Eric B. and Rakim's 'Follow the Leader.' This wave of teen pop was displaced, in part, by the proliferation and commercial acceptance of gangsta rap in the early '90s. When the boy band explosion of 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys and the like erupted a decade later, rappers understandably kept their distance. Fanbases couldn't be alienated or compromised and syrupy teen pop music was worlds away from the bravado and chest-thumping that characterized many hip-hop artists.

For the first time, the industry had a rapper who combined intricate, mesmerizing flows that earned the respect of hip-hop fans with a good-looking, blond-haired, blue-eyed white kid who could pass as the badass older brother of any boy band member. Teenagers, especially teenage girls, that never listened to hip-hop (and most likely wouldn't listen to a black emcee rhyme about killing his ex-wife and hiding her body), flocked to Eminem, driving his 1999 'Slim Shady' LP to #2 and largely contributing to its 4 million albums sold.

A master provocateur, the rapper's next album, 2000's 'Marshall Mathers' LP, contained multiple barbs and jabs at Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, and 'N Sync -- Sample lyric: "And by the way, 'N Sync, why do they sing?/Am I the only one who realizes they stink?" -- yet at the same time, proved he was as big as any of them and fully bridged the hip-hop, rock and rap worlds (ironically, Justin Timberlake would go on to work with numerous rappers in his post-'N Sync solo career.)

Still, it wasn't as if Eminem was exulting at the prospect of working with Timberlake. In 2001, saccharine pop group LFO entered the studio with the aggressive hip-hop duo M.O.P., presumably in a mutual effort to increase their fanbases. The result, 'Life is Good,' was recently featured on Complex Magazine's "50 Worst Hip-Hop Fails of All Time." Enough said.

With about 10 years in between teen pop cycles, no one has challenged the late 90s boy band reign until King Bieber arrived and became a global phenomenon. How times have changed. Early last month, Kanye West went on a Tweet-a-thon lovefest about Justin Bieber and the singer's Michael Jackson-esque "Runaway Love."

The Tweetversation between West and Bieber (who has the privilege of being the only person West follows on the service) led West to release a remix of the song with himself and Wu-Tang's Raekwon (who probably still has no idea why he is involved in this).

It's just the latest in increased credibility from certain members of the hip-hop community. Earlier this year, the singer was nominated in the Best New Artist category at the BET Awards, a first for a white, teen pop artist. The nomination was derided by some, but Bieber had some powerful defenders as Combs publicly came to his aid, stating that "the beauty of BET is, if Justin Bieber's hot, then he deserves to be on that stage. Sometimes, at other award shows, the color of your skin or the type of music you make takes away from getting the accolade you deserve."

In April, when asked about his embracing by the community, the singer responded, ""I like hop-hop a lot. I'm really glad they've taken a liking to me...I think it's because I didn't go through the Disney route. I didn't go corny, but, like, at the same time, I've been cool and collected."

With JB getting the exclamation-laden seal of approval from West, arguably the most influential person in music across all genres, and others, and Drake blurring the line between teen pop idol and Lil Wayne-approved rap superstar, how far are we from seeing the next teen idol on the cover of XXL?

OOOH YEAHHH !!JUSTIN SHOW ALL THE RAPPERS HOW ITS DONE..IF YOU NOTICED ALL THE RAPPERS CAME TO HIM,RAPPERS BOWDOWN TO THE MOST TALENTED SINGER SONGWRITTER DANCER AUTHOR ACTOR SPOKESPERSON ON EARTH..YAYYY JUSTIN

Its amazing how music really bonds everyone together no matter what color or age. Good for JB he is so adorable!!! An not to mention down to earth. My daughters go nuts for him... I am finally used to the fact that he is a house hold name now. And as long as he doesn't start talking about taking off clothes or having sex I won't mind my princess' listening to him. I do mind that disgusting Lady Gaga tramp... i hope the rumors that she is retiring is true i can't stand her or her backwood msgs in her songs.

Good for you, I think most moms would agree. Notice the jealous jerks trying to belittle him in here. It's easy to knock a decent, harmless kid like justin--I guess he's not raunchy enough for their tastes.

Everytime i looked at pictures of Beiber's hairdo i couldn't quite put my finger on what it resembled. Now i have it figured out. Have you ever seen pictures of the Royal guards at Buckingham Palace with the red and black uniforms and the very tall black furry hats with the chin straps? Ok that is what Beiber's hairdo reminds me of. Those guards hats.Cracks me up just to think of it. honest.

Well if this kid is doing so much hiphop then maybe 50 cent can do us all a favor &do a song with him. then the next time those ppl that want 50 dead take a shot at him on stage they can "accidently" hit this little sh*t right between the eyes. that would really put a smile on my face. I wouldn't feel this strongly if it wasn't for the fact that I can't go anywhere or do anything without hearing this sh*t heads awful girly voice or seeing his ugly alien face. So help us out would you 50?